Share This

“There are a lot of people who need psychiatric care who aren’t getting any,” says Dr. Erick Messias, psychiatrist at the Medical College of Georgia and lead author on the study in the March issue of Psychiatric Services. “There is a constellation of factors keeping people away from that care. This translates into people suffering for years, when there is a solution.”

Credit: Image courtesy of Medical College of Georgia

Psychiatrists’ first large-scale assessment of the general population shows nearly 30 percent need mental health care and about one-third of them get it.

Related Articles

The study focused on Baltimore, where a team of psychiatrists interviewed 816 people between 1993 and 1999.

They found the greatest need was treatment of alcohol dependence, nearly 14 percent, and major depression, nearly 11 percent.

“There are a lot of people who need psychiatric care who aren’t getting any,” says Dr. Erick Messias, psychiatrist at the Medical College of Georgia and lead author on the study in the March issue of Psychiatric Services. “There is a constellation of factors keeping people away from that care. This translates into people suffering for years, when there is a solution.”

He notes that many people don’t even seek help, some because they believe they’ll get better on their own. A perceived lack of efficacy of treatment, societal pressures, stigma and a lack of comprehensive insurance coverage for mental health also are factors. Insufficient numbers of mental health professionals also impede access.

In his own practice, Dr. Messias sees people who have struggled for years before they finally seek help. While he acknowledges that seeking help won’t always cure the problem, he believes it can decrease most people’s pain.

The study looked at the most common mental health problems, social phobia, panic disorder and agoraphobia – in addition to depression and alcohol dependence. These problems may not require medication but could benefit from treatment, from psychotherapy to programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous, he says.

Interestingly those with severe mental illness, such as schizophrenia, are more likely to get help. “However, from a public health perspective these conditions, albeit causing great pain and suffering, compared to prevalent mental disorders, affect a smaller proportion of the population" Dr. Messias says.

“Prevalence of mental disorders is only an approximation of the need for treatment,” he and co-authors write. “There is a substantial need for mental health services in the general population.”

Dr. Messias suggests that Baltimore’s population reflects the prevalence and unmet needs of most larger cities, such as New York, Chicago and Atlanta. Studies are needed to see how midsize and small cities fare, he says.

What is clear is more mental health professionals are needed across the spectrum, including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and occupational therapists, and those professionals need to work as teams to maximize impact, he says.

He estimates that within his own practice, a psychologist working with him would enable him to double his patient load.

Acknowledging that it can be difficult for individuals to decide they need any level of mental health care, Dr. Messias says there are some key indicators. “I always ask patients how they sleep, because the way you sleep tells me a lot about how well you are,” he says. “If you are so tired you are sleeping all the time or you can’t sleep, that’s a sign that something on your mind is not letting you relax.” Work and personal relationships are two other good indicators. “If you can love and work, you probably will do fine.”

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University are co-authors on the study which was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health.

More From ScienceDaily

More Mind & Brain News

Featured Research

Mar. 3, 2015 — No significant change in home habits of smokers have been observed in the aftermath of a ban on smoking in public spaces, researchers report. Greater inspiration to kick the habit likely comes from ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Heart function has been associated with the development of dementia and Alzheimer's disease through a new study. Participants with decreased heart function, measured by cardiac index, were two to ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Children of recently separated or divorced families are likelier to drink sugar-sweetened beverages than children in families where the parents are married, putting them at higher risk for obesity ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Although sedatives are often administered before surgery, a randomized trial finds that among patients undergoing elective surgery under general anesthesia, receiving the sedative lorazepam before ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Why do people shake hands? A new study suggests one of the reasons for this ancient custom may be to check out each other's odors. Even if we are not consciously aware of this, handshaking may ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — It appears that stress markers in unemployed people can be found, independent of smoking, alcohol consumption and overweight/obesity. Results from a study suggest that long-term unemployment may be ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — On the heels of an American nationwide measles outbreak comes a report that campaigns aimed at scaring people about the consequences of non-vaccination might not be as effective as many think. ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Doctors write millions of prescriptions a year for drugs to calm the behavior of people with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. But non-drug approaches actually work better, and carry ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Briefly counseling college students on the dangers of binge drinking is effective in lowering heavy drinking levels among many students, but only temporarily. Three out of four will be right back ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Loneliness brought about by the death of a spouse can trigger a wider network of depression-like symptoms, a study has found, but authors suggest that doctors are often too quick to attribute these ... full story

Related Stories

Feb. 11, 2015 — Individuals with mental health disorders have a risk of mortality that is two times higher than the general population or than individuals without such disorders, according to a new ... full story

Dec. 12, 2013 — Access to mental health care has become a prominent issue in Congress following mass shootings around the United States. But a new study suggests that unless those in need of help have deep pockets, ... full story

July 21, 2010 — A new study finds that 17 per cent of homeless people in Toronto -- one in six -- reported unmet health care needs. Women with dependent children had almost twice as much trouble getting access to ... full story

ScienceDaily features breaking news and videos about the latest discoveries in health, technology, the environment, and more -- from major news services and leading universities, scientific journals, and research organizations.